MILWAUKEE - Freshman Jenny Linder scored a career-high 25 points to put her team in position for a victory, but Youngstown State University scored the final 11 points of the night to send the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to a heartbreaking 79-73 loss Thursday evening at the Klotsche Center.
 
"It was tough. I felt like we had a lot of opportunities in those last three minutes to put ourselves in a position to win and we didn't take care of the basketball," UWM head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "We had a majority of our turnovers right down the stretch when the possession of the ball really matters."
 
Senior Ashley Green put up a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 3:04 left in the contest. Her 10 offensive boards tied the school record. Junior Jaleesa Armstrong was also in double-figures with 11.
 
The Panthers (8-16, 4-8 Horizon League) erased a 10-point second-half advantage the Penguins (18-7, 7-5 Horizon League) held and were up by five, at 73-68, when Green picked up her fifth. It was all YSU from there, scoring the final 11 points of the game to escape with the victory.
 
UWM had a tough time without its senior leader down the stretch, forced into five turnovers and one missed field goal after she had to head to the bench.
 
Heidi Schlegel almost single-handedly led the visitors to victory, setting a career high with 38 points to eclipse her former high of 28 handily.
 
"All in all, I thought we played very tough," Rechlicz said. "I thought we matched their toughness. We battled tonight. Our shot was falling but we just couldn't lock up one of the best players in the conference – Heidi Schlegel – she put on a clinic tonight."
 
 
Milwaukee took a 73-68 advantage on a Lindner three before Schlegel took over. She scored the next six points as the Penguins went back ahead, 74-73, on her two free throws.
 
Schlegel came up with a steal on the next possession and Nikki Arbanas then hit the biggest shot of the evening, a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down that gave YSU a four-point lead with 10.4 seconds remaining.
 
Back and forth throughout the second half, eight straight UWM points gave it the first lead since the opening minutes at 58-54 and forced a timeout.
 
The Panthers never let the Penguins pull away in the first half despite a slow start that saw them hit just one of their first 10 attempts from the floor.
 
Green was the star, scoring 16 of the team's 32 points in the opening frame to trail by just four at intermission at 36-32. She nearly had a double-double by half as well, grabbing nine boards in the opening period.
 
Youngstown State scored seven in a row early to lead 9-3. A Lindner three helped UWM trim the deficit to just a basket at 12-10, but YSU responded with a 10-0 run. A Schlegel three capped the run and forced a timeout at 22-10.
 
The Panthers would claw back, using seven straight as part of a 10-2 spurt that made it a new game at 24-20.
 
Youngstown ended the night at 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the floor, while Milwaukee finished at 41.9 percent (26-of-62). The contest featured 22 made 3-pointers, including 12 by UWM.
 
Lindner topped her former high of 19 points, making 5-of-7 three-pointers while adding five rebounds, an assist and a steal.
 
Up next, the Panthers have the bye from league play on the weekend and return to action Wednesday with the drive to Chicago to take on UIC. Tip time against the Flames is set for 7 p.m.